This Week's Men's Basketball Storylines:

BACK IN ACTION: Winona State will look to use the start of a new calendar year as a fresh start for the team. The Warriors ring in the New Year by traveling to Northern State for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Wachs Arena on January 2 before visiting MSU Moorhead for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Dragons at 6 p.m. Saturday inside Nemzek Fieldhouse.

TOUGH COMPETITION: If the Warriors hope to record their first road victories of the season, they're going to have to do it against two teams atop the NSIC North Division. The MSU Moorhead Dragons possess a league-best 14-1 overall record and a 5-1 mark in NSIC play, while the Northern State Wolves are right behind them with a 10-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in league play.

LAST YEAR'S TRIP: The Warriors came away with a split on this road trip last year, but not without perhaps the best weekend of Riley Bambenek's young career. Bambenek scored the second-most points of his career against the Wolves, dropping 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead WSU to a 64-53 win on Jan. 31, 2014. The next night the Warriors were tripped up by the Dragons 82-80, but not before another 26-point effort on 10-of-16 shooting from the then-freshman sharpshooter.

WOLVES SERIES HISTORY: Northern State holds a 40-36 edge in series history dating back to Dec. 27, 1968. Since 2005, however, the Warriors have won 17 of the past 21 matchups.

DRAGONS SERIES HISTORY: Winona State holds an 80-72 edge in series history over the Dragons dating back to Jan. 27, 1934. The Warriors have been the victors in 30 of the past 35 matchups since Feb. 22, 1997.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES: A trio of Wolves have done the bulk of the scoring for Northern State to lead the team to a 10-2 start. Senior forward Seth Bachand leads the team with 13.6 points per game while also being a force on the defensive end with a team-high 18 blocks and 108 rebounds. The sharpshooting junior Skye Warwick is second on the squad with 11.4 points per game with 34 of his 44 baskets on the year coming from 3-point range. Warwick has hit 53 percent of his shots from long range. Sophomore guard Darian Peterka is the third NSU player in double digits averaging 11.2 points per game while also compiling a team-high 16 steals.

SCOUTING THE DRAGONS: MSU Moorhead has had the luxury of keeping the same starting lineup for all 15 games this season. Reigning NSIC North Division Player of the Week Jordan Riewer leads the Dragons with his 16.4 points per game on 53 percent shooting. Aaron Lien averages 13 points per game, while Isaac Sevlie puts up 10.7 points per game and Tyler Vaughan nets 10 points per game. The Dragons boast the league's best scoring offense at 85.1 points per game as well as the second-best scoring defense, giving up just 64.5 points per game. MSUM also is the top free throw shooting team (.776) and has the best field goal percentage (.512) as well as the top 3-point field goal percentage (.439).

BLOCKS AND BOARDS: The Warriors continue to take pride in their strong defensive play. The Warriors are atop the NSIC when it comes to blocked shots, swatting 44 on the season for an average of 4.4 per game. WSU is second in the conference in defensive rebounds, grabbing an average of 28.0 per game and are the top team in the league when it comes to defensive rebound percentage, grabbing an opponent's missed shot a league-best 81 percent of the time.

RELYING ON RILEY: The Warriors will look for a big weekend from Riley Bambenek. The sharpshooting sophomore leads the Warriors and is 11^th in the NSIC with 15.1 points per game while also dishing out 32 assists on the season, good for 12th in the league. Bambenek is currently the only usual starter averaging double digits, as Isaiah Gray adds 12.9 points per game in a primarily sixth-man role.